A crucial cricket match was to be played between two cricket teams of a school to choose the best out of them. The best team would be selected to go for the zonals. But one of the boys of one team suddenly fell ill and by no means would he be able to attend the cricket match. So the coach had to select Adarsh as a substitute though he didn’t want to, as Adarsh walked with a limp. But Adarsh was very excited. It was an opportunity for him to prove himself.
On the day of the match, all the parents came to cheer the young Sachin Tendulkars’ and Brett Lees’. Adarsh’s father was also there and he knew how happy and excited his son was. He could see his child sitting in the grass. Adarsh was undoubtedly restless and sat with a big smile on his face. Every time one of his team mates hit a six or four, he would hoot as if they had already won the match.
The other team had already set a target of 96 runs. 92 runs had been scored by Adarsh’s team. Now 5 runs were to be scored in 2 balls. Adarsh’s team was very confident at first as one of their best players was playing but unfortunately in the next ball, the champion of their team also got out. Now the target was 5 runs in 1 ball. Adarsh and another of his team mate had to go for batting.
Adarsh’s father knew he wouldn’t be called upon to play next. He knew how happy his child was when he had been selected to play for the team. He would hate to see his child feeling that he contributed nothing towards the match. He knew that the other guy would be selected to play instead of Adarsh.
But then with the mutual consent of all the team members, the captain of the team let Adarsh play the last ball. It seemed more or less unbelievable to his father. He could see Adarsh excitedly put his pads on. At last he was on the pitch. The bowler of the opposite team bowled. It was a wide. Now 4 runs had to be made by Adarsh. It seemed impossible to his father. The whole crowd had turned dead silent, anxious to know the result of the last ball. The bowler bowled. The ball reached Adarsh in what seemed like a Century to his father. A sharp crack sound could be heard when Adarsh hits the ball. The ball rolled on & on at a high speed. The fielder dived to stop the way but somehow it seemed that the ball was willing to reach the boundary. The fielder missed, and the ball hit the boundary to give a clear win to Adarsh’s team. It seemed like a miracle to his father.
The crowd stood up clapping and for that one moment, it didn’t matter which team they were supporting. At that point of time, everybody supported the faith of Adarsh. Both the teams took and carried Adarsh on their shoulders. His father had tears in his eyes. He could see Adarsh happy and giggling. His eyes were searching his father. He waved wildly at his father and his father waved back. At that time nobody cared about their personal gain or loss, everybody cared about that child-like smile of Adarsh and how he enjoyed being the hero of the day.
Later Adarsh’s father came to know that the opponent team’s captain had let Adarsh hit a boundary with the mutual consent of his team mates. The captain of other team wanted to give Adarsh one of the best memories of his life.
